It’s a universal truth that battery life on phones is bad. Even with the giant batteries and external battery packs we tote around, most modern smartphones struggle to make it through a full day of use, while the best devices barely scrape through two.
But it didn’t use to be this way: back in the (relatively) old days, phones had (relatively) fantastic battery life, lasting for multiple days at a time without needing to be charged. And, yes, our phones today are vastly more powerful than, say, a Nokia 3310, but why haven’t batteries kept up with the pace of progress?
It’s a universal truth that battery life on phones is bad. Even with the giant batteries and external battery packs we tote around, most modern smartphones struggle to make it through a full day of use, while the best devices barely scrape through two.
But it didn’t use to be this way: back in the (relatively) old days, phones had (relatively) fantastic battery life, lasting for multiple days at a time without needing to be charged. And, yes, our phones today are vastly more powerful than, say, a Nokia 3310, but why haven’t batteries kept up with the pace of progress?
In an interview following the first Democratic debate, Sen. Michael Bennet tells Kasie Hunt that the Washington DC of compromise and civility that Joe Biden has been talking about on the campaign trail 'doesn’t exist,' but that it 'needs to exit again.'
Former Vice President Joe Biden disputed Sen. Kamala Harris’s description of his past, but drew criticism from Sen. Cory Booker when he said, 'that kid wearing a hoodie may very well be the next poet laureate and not a gang banger.'
Ascendant after her first debate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), told Kasie Hunt how she decided to go after Joe Biden for his comments about segregationist senators, saying, 'from the moment that I heard his comments about these segregationists it was
Fresh off the first presidential debates of the cycle, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand focused on women’s reproductive health but has yet to see her campaign break through on the national stage.
Following a breakout performance in which he went after Beto O’Rourke over immigration policy, Julián Castro tells Kasie Hunt the first debate showed voters he has what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the president.
After tantalizing the world about the possibility of a meeting with Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone, President Trump made history by stepping over the line and shaking hands, but with no assurances of a nuclear disarmament deal.
After Donald Trump Jr. shared, and then deleted, a tweet calling into question Kamala Harris’s racial identity, 2020 Democrats condemned what some are calling a 'birther-style' attack.
Even though machine learning AKA ‘deep learning’ / ‘artificial intelligence’ has been around for several decades now, it’s only recently that computing power has become fast enough to do anything useful with the science.
However, to fully understand how a neural network (NN) works, [Dimitris Tassopoulos] has stripped the concept down to pretty much the simplest example possible – a 3 input, 1 output network – and run inference on a number of MCUs, including the humble Arduino Uno. Miraculously, the Uno processed the network in an impressively fast prediction time of 114.4 μsec!
Whilst we did not test the code on an MCU, we just happened to have Jupyter Notebook installed so ran the same code on a Raspberry Pi directly from [Dimitris’s] bitbucket repo.
He explains in the project pages that now that the hype about AI has died down a bit that it’s the right time for engineers to get into the nitty-gritty of the theory and start using some of the ‘tools’ such as Keras, which have now matured into something fairly useful.
In part 2 of the project, we get to see the guts of a more complicated NN with 3-inputs, a hidden layer with 32 nodes and 1-output, which runs on an Uno at a much slower speed of 5600 μsec.
This exploration of ML in the embedded world is NOT ‘high level’ research stuff that tends to be inaccessible and hard to understand. We have covered Machine Learning On Tiny Platforms Like Raspberry Pi And Arduino before, but not with such an easy and thoroughly practical example.
An idea taking shape inside the Trump administration would amount to negotiating a nuclear freeze that essentially enshrines the status quo, tacitly accepting the North as a nuclear power.
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Oil prices were up over the last week with WTI futures at $59.74 per barrel and Brent at $66.01 barrel. A year ago, WTI was at $74, and Brent was at $77 - so oil prices are down about 20% year-over-year.
Here is a graph from Gasbuddy.com for nationwide gasoline prices. Nationally prices are at $2.70 per gallon. A year ago prices were at $2.85 per gallon, so gasoline prices are down about 6% year-over-year.
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Oil prices were up over the last week with WTI futures at $59.74 per barrel and Brent at $66.01 barrel. A year ago, WTI was at $74, and Brent was at $77 - so oil prices are down about 20% year-over-year.
Here is a graph from Gasbuddy.com for nationwide gasoline prices. Nationally prices are at $2.70 per gallon. A year ago prices were at $2.85 per gallon, so gasoline prices are down about 6% year-over-year.
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A Ukrainian-Russian developer says he hired the former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani to lobby. Mr. Giuliani says he never lobbied the U.S. government.
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Substituting poultry without the skin for red meat is good way to reduce the amount of saturated fat in your meal and can be part of a heart-healthy diet. [1] For example, you can use ground turkey in place of ground beef when making burgers. Keep in mind that because turkey has less fat than beef, an unseasoned turkey burger will be bland and dry. Season your turkey burgers with dry seasonings or additional ingredients for a delicious, juicy burger.
Mix cumin with turkey before forming patties for a smoky flavor. Cumin works well with Mexican, North African, Indian, and Middle Eastern flavor profiles.[2] Use 1 teaspoon (2.5 grams) dried cumin for of ground turkey.[3]
Combine chili powder with turkey before forming patties to add heat. Chili powder pairs best with Latin American flavors. Mix ½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) chili powder with of ground turkey.[4]
Chile powder is a blend of spices including ancho chile powder, paprika, cumin, and Mexican oregano.[5]
Mix thyme into turkey before forming patties for a bright taste. Turkey’s neutral taste means that it can allow other flavors to shine, and thyme pairs well with a Mediterranean flavor profile. Use 1 teaspoon (1.5 grams) of dried thyme for of ground turkey.[6]
Add salt and pepper to turkey before forming patties. A simple seasoning of salt and pepper works with any flavor profile and is the best choice if you want the burger toppings to be the focus. Use ½ teaspoon (3 grams) and ½ teaspoon of pepper (1 gram) for of ground turkey.[7]
Use seasoning salt or lemon pepper for extra flavor.[8]
EditAdding Other Foods to Improve Flavor and Texture
Mix eggplant with turkey before preparing patties for a meaty flavor. To prepare the eggplant, roast it at for 30 minutes. Allow to cool and scrape the flesh from the skin, and then chop finely to make a puree.[9]
Use one small eggplant, about , for each of turkey.[10]
Mix ricotta cheese with turkey before forming patties. Ricotta cheese will add a mild flavor and moisture without a lot of extra fat.[11] Use ½ cup (124 grams) whole-milk ricotta cheese for of ground turkey.[12]
Combine ketchup and turkey before forming patties for a classic flavor. This works best if you are planning to add toppings like onions, lettuce, mustard, and more ketchup. Use 2 tablespoons (34 grams) of ketchup for of ground turkey.[13]
Mix Dijon mustard with turkey before forming patties for a bold flavor. Since Dijon is sharper and spicier than yellow mustard, its flavor will hold up better when cooked.[14]. Use 1 tablespoon (18 grams) mustard for of ground turkey.[15]
Add onion to turkey before forming patties for a diner-style burger. This is best if you’re planning to serve the burgers with toppings like ketchup, mustard, and pickles. For of ground turkey, grate half of a medium onion.[16]
Mix shredded cheese with turkey before forming patties. The pockets of cheese in the burger patty give it a juicier interior and a crunchy crust. Use of a mild cheese like Monterey Jack per of ground turkey.[17]
For a bolder, cheese-forward burger, try stronger cheeses like sharp cheddar and pepper jack.
When choosing a cheese, consider what toppings you will be adding to the burger. For example, cheddar would pair well with classic cheeseburger toppings like lettuce and tomato.
EditUsing Different Cooking Techniques to Create Additional Flavor
Sear the burgers to make a flavorful crust. This will also give you a crisp exterior texture. Burgers can be cooked in a skillet on medium-high heat until a crust forms on the bottom, about 3 minutes, and then baked at for 5 to 7 minutes.[18]
Only handle the burgers when flipping in order to keep them from drying out.[20]
Grill the burgers for a smoky taste. Using a charcoal grill will give you the best flavor. Cook over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side. [21]
Don’t press the burgers down, because you’ll lose the juices and end up with a drier burger.[22]
Cook the burgers over a campfire to add complex flavors. Different types of wood will add different taste notes. For example, apple wood gives meat a light, sweet flavor and hickory adds a hearty taste.[23]
To efficiently cook several burgers at once, use a hinged grill basket. They can be purchased online or from a local outdoors supply store.[24]
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation that would bar people who attack or kill a gay person from arguing they panicked over their victim's sexuality.
Access to fast and affordable internet is a big issue in the USA, even in a major metropolis such as New York City. Amidst a cartel of ISPs who simply will not deliver, a group of NYC inhabitants first took it upon themselves to ease this situation by setting up their own mesh-based internet connections way back in 2013. Now they will be installing a new Supernode to take the installation base far beyond the current 300 buildings serviced.
As a community project, NYC Mesh is run as a non-profit organization, with its community members supporting the effort through donations, along with partnerships with businesses. Its router hardware consists out of off-the-shelf equipment (with a focus on the Ubiquiti NanoStation NSM5) that get flashed with custom firmware containing the mesh routing functionality.
As this article by Vice mentions, NYC Mesh is one of 750 community-led broadband projects in the US. Many of those use more traditional fixed wiring with distribution lines, but NYC Mesh focuses fully on wireless (WiFi) links with wireless mesh networking. This has the obvious benefit that given enough bandwidth on the Supernodes that hook into the Internet exchange points (IXP) and an efficient mesh routing protocol, it’s quick and easy to hook up new clients and expand the network.
The obvious downsides of using WiFi and RF in general is that they are not immune to outside influences, such as weather (rain), RF interference (including from other WiFi stations) and of course fairly limited range if there’s no direct line of sight. In a densely populated city such as NYC this is not much of an issue, with short hops between roof tops.
Pikachu is easily the most recognizable character from Pokemon. Use origami paper to create your own Pikachu that you can carry with you everywhere. Make sure to use yellow origami paper to give your Pikachu its signature color, then use black and red markers to draw on the face and other details.
Place a square piece of origami paper flat and rotate it like a diamond. Use yellow origami paper to create an authentic-looking Pikachu. Place the paper on a flat surface in front of you with the colored side down.[1]
You can make a square out of normal white printer paper if you don’t have origami paper. Color it yellow before you start folding it to make it Pikachu’s color.
Fold the origami paper in half left to right, then unfold it. Fold the left corner over the right corner and crease the middle. Unfold it into a diamond again so you can see the crease in the middle.[2]
The crease will help guide your next folds to make your Pikachu.
Fold the bottom half of the paper up to the top. Take the bottom corner and fold it up over the top corner. You will now have a yellow triangle with the top point facing away from you.[3]
Make sure you can still see the crease in the middle to guide your next fold.
Fold the top of the triangle down to the bottom edge. Take both layers of the top point of the triangle and fold it down so the tip touches the bottom edge. Make sure the tip is lined up with the crease in the middle of the triangle.[4]
The origami should now look like a triangle with the top third of it cut off.
Fold the sides up diagonally towards the center. Fold the left side up so that it creates half of a diamond. Do the same for the right side so you have a diamond with a space down the center.[5]
Use the part of the triangle that you folded down as a guide for folding the sides up diagonally.
Fold the left and right corners in to the center. Fold the corners in at each side like a paper airplane. This will create Pikachu’s ears that you will fold out next.[6]
You should have a diamond shape in front of you that is long and narrow at the top, and short and wide at the bottom.
Fold the ears out to the left and right at whatever angle you want. Fold the left and right ears out at different angles to give your Pikachu some personality. Fold them at the same angle if you want your Pikachu to look symmetrical.[7]
Look at how Pikachu’s ears are in different Pokemon scenes or artwork for inspiration.
Fold in the pointy cheeks and chin of your Pikachu’s face. Fold the bottom point up to flatten the chin. Fold the left and right points in to flatten the cheeks.[8]
Try to keep the folds symmetrical so that you create an evenly rounded face for Pikachu.
Flip the origami over and draw on Pikachu’s face. Use a black marker to draw the eyes, ears, nose, and the outline of the mouth. Use a red marker to draw the cheeks and color in the mouth.[9]
You can draw many styles of Pikachu's face on your origami Pikachu. Make Pikachu happy, mad, or even sad! Try making a bunch of these easy origami Pikachus for every mood.
Start with a piece of origami paper flat with the colored side facing you. Place a piece of yellow origami paper on a flat surface in front of you. Align it like a normal square.[10]
Use a square of normal paper colored yellow if you don’t have origami paper.
Fold the paper in half along both diagonals and horizontally. Fold the top half down over the bottom half and unfold it. Do the same for both diagonal directions.[11]
You should now have a square in front of you with a horizontal crease and 2 diagonal creases.
Fold the paper inwards along the diagonal creases on the bottom half. Flatten the paper along the creases so you have a triangle with a vertical piece of paper sticking up into the air. Flatten the vertical piece next so that you have 2 triangles.[12]
It should now look like 2 triangles, 1 on top of the other, with the top point facing away from you and the flat edge closest to you.
Fold the 2 sides of each triangle up so they meet in the middle. Fold the left and right corners of the top triangle upwards towards the point of the triangle. Flip the paper over and repeat this for the bottom triangle.[13]
You should now have a diamond shape in front of you that has a vertical space running down the middle.
Fold the side flaps in to the middle on each side. Fold the left and right points in so that they meet in the middle where the vertical space is. Flip the paper over and repeat this.[14]
You will now have a diamond shape with flat sides.
Fold the top flaps down. Fold the left and right top flaps down in half and slide the tips into the little pockets. Flip over the paper and repeat this for the other side.
Tuck the folded top flaps into the little pockets on each side. Start with the side facing you and tuck the top flaps you folded down into the little pockets that are there. Do the same for the other side.
This will keep all the top flaps in place once you inflate Pikachu.
Fold the remaining set of top flaps down and to the side to make the ears. Fold the left and right top flaps down and out to the left and right. You will now have what looks like a flattened Pikachu.[15]
The top half should look like a triangle, with the ears as the left and right sides of the triangle. The bottom half should look like a square with a pointy bottom.
Blow in the tiny hole at the bottom of the origami to inflate it. Pick up the folded origami and look for the tiny hole at the bottom. Blow into it several times until it inflates.[16]
You should now have a cube with 2 ears.
Draw Pikachu’s face on with markers. Use a black marker to color the tips of the ears and draw on the eyes, nose, and mouth. Use a red marker to make the cheeks and a tongue if you want.[17]
Perk up the ears to give your Pikachu some character.
Animation has come a long way, INSIDER shared this video on Youtube!
From “Toy Story” through “Toy Story 4,” Pixar has revolutionized animation in its nearly three decades of existence. Each new movie requires new technical innovations. “Monster’s Inc.” helped them create fur, “Ratatouille” helped them create wet fur, and “Finding Dory” led them to create an octopus from scratch. In “Toy Story 4,” which comes out June 21, they updated Bo Peep, created Forky, and made perhaps the most realistic-looking cat you’ll ever see in animated form.
Now, the team has struck gold again, further evidence of the benefits of its innovative luring technique which could transform how the striking sea life is tracked in future. The group from the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA) has developed a tool they dubbed The Medusa, a stealth camera system designed to be particularly unobtrusive. It’s based on the theory that animals like giant squid are frightened off by the bright lights on traditional submersibles, not to mention the loud noises they make.
Now, the team has struck gold again, further evidence of the benefits of its innovative luring technique which could transform how the striking sea life is tracked in future. The group from the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA) has developed a tool they dubbed The Medusa, a stealth camera system designed to be particularly unobtrusive. It’s based on the theory that animals like giant squid are frightened off by the bright lights on traditional submersibles, not to mention the loud noises they make.
From Team Plant Protector: Brian Cottrell, Christine Cottrell, Joe Gonzalez, Ruby Hsu, Chih-Wei Hsu on Hackster.io:
In order to efficiently distribute water and nutrients to our plants regardless of the shape or size of the planter, we place a small inexpensive ultrasonic humidifier into a 3D-printed enclosure so that it would fit in the base of the planter and allow air to flow inside so that it could be pushed through the vaporized fluid and into the interior of the planter.
From Team Plant Protector: Brian Cottrell, Christine Cottrell, Joe Gonzalez, Ruby Hsu, Chih-Wei Hsu on Hackster.io:
In order to efficiently distribute water and nutrients to our plants regardless of the shape or size of the planter, we place a small inexpensive ultrasonic humidifier into a 3D-printed enclosure so that it would fit in the base of the planter and allow air to flow inside so that it could be pushed through the vaporized fluid and into the interior of the planter.
It’s a build that’s remarkably accessible for even the inexperienced builder. Paper templates are used to cut out the plywood parts for the cabinet, and the electronic components are all off-the-shelf items. Assembly is readily achievable with high-school level woodworking and soldering skills. Like most similar builds, it relies on the Raspberry Pi running RetroPie, meaning you’ll never run out of games to play.
Where this project really shines, however, is the graphics. Cribbed from Mortal Kombat II and looking resplendent in purple, they’re key to making this cabinet a truly stunning piece. The attention to detail is excellent, too, with the marquee and screen getting acrylic overlays for that classic shine, as well as proper T-moulding being used to finish the edges.
The North Korean leader accepted Mr. Trump’s unorthodox invitation posted on Twitter just a day earlier for what will be the third time the two have gotten together in person.
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That’s right folks, it’s that time of month when E-mail Debt Forgiveness Day politely knocks on your door and reminds you of the opportunity to clean out your inbox and, who knows, maybe even remove some anxiety from your life ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You’ve got until the end the day to make this happen, so get drafting!
If there’s an email response you’ve wanted to send but been too anxious to send, you can send it on June 30, without any apologies or explanations for all the time that has lapsed. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been. Just include a link to this explainer, the one you’re reading right now, so that your recipient knows what’s going on. Together, we can all make our inboxes less stressful.
That’s right folks, it’s that time of month when E-mail Debt Forgiveness Day politely knocks on your door and reminds you of the opportunity to clean out your inbox and, who knows, maybe even remove some anxiety from your life ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You’ve got until the end the day to make this happen, so get drafting!
If there’s an email response you’ve wanted to send but been too anxious to send, you can send it on June 30, without any apologies or explanations for all the time that has lapsed. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been. Just include a link to this explainer, the one you’re reading right now, so that your recipient knows what’s going on. Together, we can all make our inboxes less stressful.
The Star Wars article I never knew I needed from Emily Asher-Perrin on Tor.com.
I’m sure when you were a kid watching Star Wars, you just assumed that the instruments being played by Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes (note: if you just called them “the cantina band” I’m really not sure what to do with you) were variants on instruments that you have already seen or played upon. Look, it’s an oboe! That one’s a space saxophone! How wrong you were, my young friend. How misguided. That instrument that Figrin D’an is playing is called a kloo horn. It’s totally different from our lousy Earth instruments. (It’s not.) And the Star Wars universe is full of musicians who loved that instrument, at least according to the Legends canon.
The Star Wars article I never knew I needed from Emily Asher-Perrin on Tor.com.
I’m sure when you were a kid watching Star Wars, you just assumed that the instruments being played by Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes (note: if you just called them “the cantina band” I’m really not sure what to do with you) were variants on instruments that you have already seen or played upon. Look, it’s an oboe! That one’s a space saxophone! How wrong you were, my young friend. How misguided. That instrument that Figrin D’an is playing is called a kloo horn. It’s totally different from our lousy Earth instruments. (It’s not.) And the Star Wars universe is full of musicians who loved that instrument, at least according to the Legends canon.
President Trump praised his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during an address to South Korean business leaders Sunday and hinted that both men could meet later in the day at the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas.
Eric Trump says "it's a joke" that Democrats want to give free health care and other benefits to illegal immigrants and predicted the platform will "backfire" on the 2020 presidential candidates.
Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg were among the presidential hopefuls who called a message that the president’s son had retweeted “racist” and “vile.”
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USB C Jack to USB A Jack Round Panel Mount Adapter: If you need to add a panel-mount connection for USB C, but don’t have the time or tools to cut a custom oval or square hole, this Round Panel Mount Plug is the easiest and fastest way to panel-ify your project. It’s about 30mm in diameter, so you can drill a hole in your wood, plastic or metal with a common hole-saw or bit, no special shapes or filing required. Un-screw the plastic nut, insert the plug and re-attach. Ta-da! Now you have a USB C jack to a USB A jack adapter!
USB C Jack to Micro USB Jack Round Panel Mount Adapter: If you need to add a panel-mount connection for USB C, but don’t have the time or tools to cut a custom oval or square hole, this USB C jack to USB Micro B jack Round Panel Mount Plug is the easiest and fastest way to panel-ify your project. It’s about 30mm in diameter, so you can drill a hole in your wood, plastic or metal with a common hole-saw or bit, no special shapes or filing required. Un-screw the plastic nut, insert the plug and re-attach. Ta-da! Now you have a USB C socket to USB Micro B socket adapter!
Adafruit PiRTC – Precise DS3231 Real Time Clock for Raspberry Pi: This is a the best battery-backed real time clock (RTC) you can get that allows your Raspberry Pi project to keep track of time if the power is lost. Perfect for data-logging, clock-building, NTP servers, time-stamping, timers and alarms, etc. Equipped with a genuine DS3231 RTC, it works great with the Raspberry Pi and has native kernel support.
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B – 1GB RAM: The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is the newest Raspberry Pi computer made, and the Pi Foundation knows you can always make a good thing better! And what could make the Pi 4 better than the 3? How about a faster processor, USB 3.0 ports, and updated Gigabit Ethernet chip with PoE capability? Good guess – that’s exactly what they did!
The Raspberry Pi 4 is the latest product in the Raspberry Pi range, boasting an updated 64-bit quad core processor running at 1.5GHz with built-in metal heatsink, USB 3 ports, dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless LAN, faster Gigabit Ethernet, and PoE capability via a separate PoE HAT. This version has 1 GB of RAM
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B – 2 GB RAM: The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is the newest Raspberry Pi computer made, and the Pi Foundation knows you can always make a good thing better! And what could make the Pi 4 better than the 3? How about a faster processor, USB 3.0 ports, and updated Gigabit Ethernet chip with PoE capability? Good guess – that’s exactly what they did!
The Raspberry Pi 4 is the latest product in the Raspberry Pi range, boasting an updated 64-bit quad core processor running at 1.4GHz with built-in metal heatsink, USB 3 ports, dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless LAN, faster (300 mbps) Ethernet, and PoE capability via a separate PoE HAT. This version comes with 2GB of RAM
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B – 4G RAM: The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is the newest Raspberry Pi computer made, and the Pi Foundation knows you can always make a good thing better! And what could make the Pi 4 better than the 3? How about a faster processor, USB 3.0 ports, and updated Gigabit Ethernet chip with PoE capability? Good guess – that’s exactly what they did!
The Raspberry Pi 4 is the latest product in the Raspberry Pi range, boasting an updated 64-bit quad core processor running at 1.4GHz with built-in metal heatsink, USB 3 ports, dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless LAN, faster (300 mbps) Ethernet, and PoE capability via a separate PoE HAT. This version comes with 4 GB of RAM
Having a panic attack—or any type of panic in general—can feel terrifying and overwhelming. Fortunately, there are no short- or long-term medical risks associated with panic. To stop panic attacks, try to slow down your breathing and distract yourself by focusing on your physical environment. With time, you can learn several techniques that will help you keep panic attacks under control and make them less severe. If you experience frequent or severe panic attacks, visit a psychiatrist and discuss possible forms of therapy to help stop the attacks.[1]
Slow down your breathing to lower your heart rate. Fast paced breathing (called hyperventilation) and panic are linked. If you find yourself panicking, try to take deep, slow breaths instead of shallow, fast ones. Aim to completely fill your lungs with air each time you take a breath. Inhale for 2–3 seconds, hold the breath for 5 seconds, and slowly exhale for another 2–3 seconds. This will help you calm down and start to think more clearly.[2]
When people hyperventilate during a panic attack, they lower the amount of carbon dioxide in their bloodstream. Studies have shown a link between low carbon dioxide and feelings of dizziness and panic.
Count backwards from 100 by 3s to distract yourself. Counting backward by 1s or 2s would be too easy and not distract your mind enough to end the panic attack. Counting by 3s will force your mind to focus on something other than its panicked state and should bring the attack to a close by the time you’ve reached 1.[3]
If you find that counting in your mind isn’t enough to stave off a panic attack, try writing down the numbers or, if you’re alone, saying them out loud.
Add up the loose change in your pocket if you carry change. This is a great way to focus your mind on an objective, external situation and distract yourself from the panic attack. Reach into your pocket or purse and, without pulling them out to look, count up the coins that you’re touching.[4]
If you don’t carry loose change, try imagining coins in different combinations and tallying the totals.
Add up, for example, 3 quarters, 18 dimes, 7 nickels, and 22 pennies.
Don’t talk through your feelings or have a conversation during an attack. Many people find that conversation in general during a panic attack makes it worse. If this is true for you, let people close to you know. It may seem logical that having a frank discussion about mental health will help you think your way out of the panic attack. However, this rarely works, and discussions are best left for after the attack has gone.[5]
Tell friends and family members something like, “If you see me having a panic attack, please don’t ask how I’m doing. That only makes it worse.”
Apply ice packs to your back and hands when you panic at home. Keep 3–4 ice packs in your freezer and, when you experience a panic attack, place 1 or 2 large ice packs over a towel draped across your lower back. Then hold 1 ice pack in each hand. The ice will cool your body down and allow you to focus on a physical sensation. This should distract you from your panic attack.[6]
You could also try rubbing an ice pack over the front of your body, from your sternum to your lower abdomen. Keep a thin t-shirt on so you won't rub the ice pack directly against your skin.
While this approach may not work for everyone, it’s worth a shot.
Focus on things outside of yourself to distract your mind. If you feel panic coming on, look around and notice things about your environment. This will distract you and should put off the panic attack. Look around and note 1 thing you can taste, 2 you can smell, 3 you can touch, and 4 things you can see.[7]
If you’re in an office, for example, take a look through your environment. Tasting coffee, smelling someone’s perfume, seeing a clock on the wall, and touching the floor will help distract you and reorient your attention.
Remove yourself from stressors that cause you to panic. Preventing a panic attack can be as straightforward as getting yourself out of a situation that you know will cause you to panic. So, try to avoid locations and encounters that you know will cause you to feel anxiety and panic. Stay away from panic-inducing triggers whenever it's within your control.[8]
For example, if you know that you panic when you're exposed to heights, avoid visiting your friend in their top-floor penthouse.
Or, if you panic when other people crowd themselves around you, don't take the subway as part of your daily commute.
Engage in calming or relaxing activities at least 2–3 times a week. Stress builds up over time and can lead to an increase in panic attacks. To keep yourself calm and panic-free, spend 3–4 hours weekly engaging in activities that relieve stress and promote a calm, relaxed state of mind. This will prevent panic attacks. Relaxing and meditative activities include things like:[9]
Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day to relieve pent-up anxiety. Much like yoga or meditation, regular exercise can decrease stress and prevent panic attacks. It can also raise your overall energy level and boost your mood. The exercise can be done all at 1 time or broken up into, for example, 3 separate 10-minute exercise sessions a day.[10] To exercise for 30 minutes a day, try things like:
Taking a walk outdoors
Jogging through a nearby park
Swimming at a local rec center pool
Jumping rope or running on a treadmill at your gym
Try CBT to change thought patterns that are related to panic attacks. Cognitive behavioral therapy—or CBT—helps individuals with a panic disorder by letting them think through the environmental and psychological causes of panic attacks. Work with a local therapist to see if CBT helps your panic disorder. In many cases, a few therapy sessions are enough to permanently stop or decrease your panic attacks.[11]
For example, say that you’ve afraid of experiencing a panic attack while driving. Your therapist will talk you through the hypothetical scenario and help you realize that, while it may sound scary, the situation wouldn’t be particularly dangerous or life-threatening.
Use exposure therapy if specific stressors trigger your panic attacks. A therapist or psychiatrist can help you use exposure therapy to overcome your panic-inducing fear of certain activities or situations. Similarly to treating someone with a phobia, exposure therapy will expose you to panic-inducing stressors in small increments. With time, the stressors will stop causing panic attacks.[12]
For example, if you often have a panic attack when your heart is racing, the therapist may ask you to run in place for 10 minutes to raise your heart rate.
Ask a therapist about medication if you have frequent panic attacks. While medications can stop panic attacks and combat anxiety, they don’t treat the underlying issue. However, if you have frequent, severe panic attacks and your counselor or a psychiatrist thinks medication will help, they can provide you with a prescription for an anti-panic medication.[13]
Always take the medication as directed, and never exceed the prescribed daily dosage.
To prevent panic attacks, doctors may prescribe antidepressants (which need to be taken daily) or anti-anxiety drugs like Benzodiazepines.
Don’t let the fear of panicking control your life. Many people who suffer from panic attacks find them scary and unpredictable. As a result, people can shut themselves in their homes to avoid the perceived embarrassment of a public panic attack.[14] Avoid this outcome by reminding yourself that you can control panic attacks, and that having one isn’t the end of the world. Then, go about your life as usual.
Try telling yourself, “A panic attack isn’t the end of the world. I know how to stop them, and they can’t hurt me. Many people have them.”
Benzodiazepines are a highly addictive type of medication. They can also cause dangerous withdrawal symptoms if abused. Talk to your doctor before taking these meds to make sure you know how to take them safely.[16]
